Mock Replication Backup Volume Allocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional data backup systems face inefficiencies due to the slow speed of tape drives and difficulties in determining optimal log file and replica volume sizes for optical and magnetic storage media, leading to laborious restoration processes and inefficient space usage.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that automatically detects data change rates in a file server and applies these detections to backup policies in a data protection manager server, allowing for the calculation of initial minimum and maximum backup volume sizes and efficient allocation of backup volumes across multiple storage media.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If tape-based storage media is used for backup, then storage capacity and cost-effectiveness are improved, but write speed and retrieval speed deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the backup storage into multiple replica volumes on faster storage media (optical or magnetic disks) rather than using a single large tape archive. This allows the system to maintain high storage capacity while enabling fast random-access retrieval of individual replica volumes, resolving the contradiction between capacity and speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a temporal dimension to storage by creating multiple point-in-time replica volumes that can be independently accessed. This dimensional approach allows the system to store large amounts of data over time while maintaining fast access speeds through parallel storage across multiple volumes rather than sequential tape access.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple backup volumes are created on magnetic storage, then space efficiency is improved, but determining optimal volume size becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements automated feedback mechanisms where the backup system continuously monitors actual data growth rates and adjusts replica volume sizes accordingly. This eliminates manual determination complexity by using real-time feedback from the backup process itself to optimize volume allocation, resolving the contradiction between space efficiency and determination complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The backup system performs self-optimization by automatically detecting data change rates and adjusting volume allocations without administrator intervention. The system serves itself by monitoring its own performance metrics and making adaptive decisions about volume sizing, transforming a complex manual task into an automated self-service process.
3Adaptability or versatility
If manual volume size adjustment is performed, then adaptability to changing data rates is improved, but time consumption and administrative burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary automated detection of data change rates during normal backup operations, preparing volume size adjustments in advance before they are needed. This preliminary action eliminates the need for reactive manual intervention, maintaining adaptability while reducing administrative time consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses continuous feedback loops that automatically adjust volume allocations based on real-time data growth patterns. This feedback mechanism provides adaptability to changing conditions without requiring manual intervention, as the system self-adjusts based on monitored performance metrics, thereby eliminating administrative time burden.
Data Source
AI summary
A file server and a data protection manager server can work in tandem to efficiently backup protected volumes, and also provide efficient access to replicas of the protected volumes. In one implementation, a file server institutes a mock replication process, in which the file server observes data associated with write operations in one or more protected volumes. Appropriate volume allocation information can then be determined, which can be used to allocate log file, spill log file, replica volume, and shadow copy volume sizes, both at the file server and at the data protection manager server. In one implementation, the file server or data protection manager server automatically determines volume allocation information and automatically provides this information to the data protection manager server. The data protection manager server can then compare the volume allocation information with identified characteristics of its storage mediums, and implements an appropriate, efficient backup policy.